Twenty Players To Watch At The 2026 World Cup — From ‘Bazoumania’ To Leverkusen’s Rising Star

BBC Sport’s World Cup commentators have identified 20 players outside the Premier League worth watching as the tournament gets underway across the United States, Canada and Mexico.

A record 1,248 players can feature at this summer’s competition, with 891 of them appearing at their first World Cup and plenty of unfamiliar faces ready to announce themselves on the global stage.

Ivory Coast teenager Yan Diomande, 19, has been one of the most sought-after signatures in European football after registering 21 goal contributions for RB Leipzig in 33 Bundesliga appearances this season.

Mexico’s Gilberto Mora, just 17, became his country’s youngest senior player at last summer’s Gold Cup and started the final as Mexico beat Mauricio Pochettino’s United States 2-1 in Houston.

Mora is also the youngest goalscorer in Liga MX history, netting for Tijuana in August 2024 when he was still only 15 years old.

Switzerland’s Johan Manzambi, 20, was named UEFA’s Europa League revelation of the season after helping SC Freiburg reach the first European final in the club’s history, where they lost to Aston Villa.

Swiss coach Murat Yakin has spoken glowingly of Manzambi, saying “he has this incredible hunger to score goals that I have rarely seen” in any player he has worked with.

PSV Eindhoven striker Ricardo Pepi banged in 19 goals, including six in his last five games, as PSV won the Dutch title, giving the United States a genuine attacking weapon on home soil.

Argentina’s Nico Paz completed more dribbles than any other player in Serie A this season at Como, contributing 13 goals and eight assists under the guidance of manager Cesc Fabregas.

Paz is the son of Argentine international defender Pablo Paz, who featured in the 1998 World Cup squad, and Real Madrid wisely inserted a buy-back clause extending into 2027 when they sold him in 2024.

Morocco’s Gessime Yassine, 20, was on Barcelona’s radar before signing a four-and-a-half-year deal at Strasbourg in January, having previously helped his nation win the Under-20 World Cup.

Bosnia-Herzegovina’s Kerim Alajbegovic, 18, scored the winning penalty in the play-off semi-final against Wales before also converting in the shootout victory over Italy to help his nation reach this tournament.

Turkey’s Can Uzun scored five goals and provided three assists in Eintracht Frankfurt’s first five Bundesliga games of last season before hamstring injuries disrupted his remarkable early-season form.

Mexico striker Armando Gonzalez scored 25 goals for Guadalajara last season, drawing comparisons to Javier ‘Chicharito’ Hernandez from those who watched him develop at the club.

Algeria’s Ibrahim Maza, just 20, has already played over 40 times for Bayer Leverkusen this season and earned 15 international caps, with comparisons being drawn in Algeria to the great Riyad Mahrez.

Steve Bower noted of Maza: “Already in Algeria, they are making comparisons between him and Riyad Mahrez, who has obviously been the poster boy of their national team for a long time.”

Colombian striker Luis Suarez scored an incredible 38 goals in his first season at Sporting in Portugal, arriving as the direct replacement for Viktor Gyokeres who departed for Arsenal.

Ivory Coast’s Bazoumana Toure, 20, prompted the phrase ‘Bazoumania’ shortly after joining Hoffenheim from Swedish side Hammarby in January 2025, racking up 12 assists in 30 league games this season.

Tottenham’s Luka Vuskovic, loaned to Hamburg this season, scored six goals from centre-back while establishing himself as a commanding defensive presence in Germany ahead of his expected return to Spurs.

With 891 players making their World Cup debuts this summer, this tournament across North America looks set to produce a number of breakout stars ready to define the next generation of global football.

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